#87 — The Upgraded Go-to-Market playbook

Marketing channels are broken. Here's what's working instead.§

Traditional marketing is in crisis. SEO takes forever, influencer spikes don't convert, and email lands in spam folders. Even viral loops require perfect products that most startups don't have yet.§

Why it matters: Early-stage founders are wasting time and money on "Big Channels" that only work for established companies with deep pockets and strong brands.§

The shift: Smart founders are abandoning traditional playbooks for a new approach that combines authentic community building with self-service viral products—powered by programmatic strategies that scale without breaking.§

The Death of Big Channels (As We Know Them)

SEO is a graveyard. You're competing against listicles and Reddit threads while Google changes algorithms overnight. AI one-boxing threatens to kill your traffic entirely.§

Influencer marketing burns cash. Big creators cost too much, small ones need constant babysitting, and those traffic spikes vanish in days without converting.§

PR doesn't scale. Expensive retainers for coffee meetings with journalists who might attack you instead of covering you. Your competitors get the same coverage next month.§

Email hits spam folders. Open rates under 30%, click-through rates under 5%, and building quality lists takes forever.§

Viral loops need perfect products. Contact spamming doesn't work anymore, aggressive popups ruin UX, and getting viral factor above 1.0 is nearly impossible.§

The reality: These channels aren't dead—they're just broken when executed manually. The companies winning are those using AI-powered programmatic approaches to transform these same channels into scalable, efficient systems.§

The Programmatic Revolution

While traditional channels decay, leading GTM teams are scaling with programmatic approaches that automate what used to require massive manual effort. These aren't just incremental improvements—they're entirely new playbooks that let small teams compete with enterprise resources.§

Programmatic SEO (pSEO)

Programmatic SEO creates content at scale. Instead of writing individual blog posts, create templates that generate hundreds of targeted pages automatically. Zapier built their entire apps directory this way, dominating long-tail keywords that competitors can't manually target.§

Read the programmatic SEO playbook →§

Programmatic Outbound (pOutbound)

Programmatic outbound reaches thousands without armies of SDRs. Top teams like Snowflake use AI/ML-powered account scoring to prioritize prospects, then automate personalized outreach sequences. One founder can now outreach to 550 accounts per month based on market size and recycling cadence.§

Read the programmatic outbound playbook →§

Programmatic Account-Based Marketing (pABM)

Programmatic ABM personalizes at enterprise scale. Growth ABM allows you to target hundreds to thousands of accounts with tiered segmentation and scalable personalization, spending around $1,000 per account while maintaining relevance.§

Learn how Userpilot generated a $900K pipeline in 135 days with a $2.5K/month 'Lean ABM' stack →§

Programmatic Influencer Marketing (pIM)

Programmatic influencer marketing transforms creator partnerships. Instead of one-off collaborations, leading GTM teams are building structured, ongoing partnerships using algorithms and automation to identify, manage, and optimize influencer relationships. This moves from ad hoc posts to systematic content series over months, creating momentum like email campaigns or content strategies. Brands are achieving 520% average ROI by combining the authenticity of influencer marketing with programmatic precision and scalability.§

Read the programmatic influencer marketing playbook →§

What's Behind The AI-Powered Big Channel Renaissance

Big Channels become viable again with AI. 80% of programmatic marketers already utilize AI to adapt advertising expenses and target strategies. AI-powered predictive targeting uses data analysis and machine learning to forecast and target the most relevant audience for ads, enhancing engagement and advertising performance. This transforms previously expensive and inefficient Big Channels into precision instruments.§

Predictive targeting transforms traditional advertising. AI-driven algorithms forecast which decision-makers are most likely to engage before they even raise their hands, using real-time analysis of behavioral, contextual, and firmographic data. This replaces static segments and gut instincts with predictive precision.§

Real-time optimization makes Big Channels viable. AI systems can process large datasets to identify patterns and trends, allowing for real-time optimization of campaigns across traditional channels. This reduces manual workload and ensures ads are delivered to the right audience at the right time.§

Dynamic creative personalization at scale. AI enables dynamic ad creation, customizing elements like headlines, CTAs, or visuals for different users based on their preferences and behaviors. This personal touch significantly improves engagement rates across all channel types.§

Fraud detection protects Big Channel investments. AI leverages machine learning algorithms trained on historical data to find anomalies such as sudden spikes in clicks or higher click-through rates compared to standard benchmarks. This protects campaign budgets and maintains accurate performance data.§

The Little Channels Strategy

Community-First Strategies

Build where your users already are. Don't create your own community platform. Join Discord, Reddit, or Slack where your target customers already hang out. Cursor has 44k Reddit members, while Clay's Slack community hit 20k users.§

Skip owned platforms. Building "Trulia Voices" style community products usually fails. Instead, build where engaged communities already exist.§

Create two-way value. Clay builds features creators can showcase, making creators look smarter while growing Clay's reach. It's a virtuous cycle, not just promotion.§

Enable user advocacy. Turn users into advocates both on and off your platform. Community members should feel like part of the process, not just customers.§

Product-Led Growth 2.0

Make sharing inevitable. Design your product so users must share it to get value. Think Slack or DocuSign - the product itself pushes users to evangelize.§

Target prosumers first. These users have higher willingness to pay, decision-making authority, and prefer self-service solutions. Cursor targets developers, ElevenLabs targets content creators.§

Remove friction barriers. Let users discover, try, and purchase without sales team interaction. Reward experimentation with credit card-only onboarding.§

Build enterprise on top. Start with individual contributors, then layer enterprise sales when revenue is already scaling. ElevenLabs now serves 41% of Fortune 500 companies but started with individual creators.§

Authentic Marketing Tactics

Build in public radically. Max Greenwald from Warmly shares real metrics and challenges on LinkedIn, building 30k+ followers and massive trust with prospects. Digital-native buyers trust authentic content over traditional advertising.§

Go open-source. Create communities around free software, then monetize later. Snyk saw 70% of premium customers start as individual contributors using their free tools.§

Take brand risks. Be polarizing. Say "this product isn't for you, it's for these cooler people." Attack competitors directly. Long-term employees at trustworthy brands can't do this - you can.§

What's Actually Working Right Now

Asymmetric Advantages

Think asymmetrically. What can you do that big companies can't? Run mini-events with cool speakers, organize Facebook groups, target single colleges or companies, email ex-colleagues. These won't scale immediately, but they'll work without competition.§

Embrace one-time tactics. Social media launches only work once, but that's fine. If unscalable tactics prove momentum and help you get funding or hiring traction, you can find new channels later.§

Leverage new technology. Use AI for rapidly creating personalized creative, generating concepts faster, or building interactive bots. Do things no one else is doing with emerging tech.§

Scale Without Breaking

Scale without proportional resource increases. Programmatic SEO lets you target thousands of long-tail keywords with template-driven content creation. One content strategist can now produce what used to require entire editorial teams.§

Automate prospect qualification at enterprise levels. Programmatic outbound uses ML models to score accounts based on win rates, ACV, and behavioral signals. Your sales team focuses only on prospects most likely to close, dramatically improving conversion rates.§

Personalize ABM campaigns across hundreds of accounts. Growth ABM delivers targeted messaging at scale using rule sets, merge fields, and tiered segmentation. You can run sophisticated account-based campaigns that previously required massive marketing operations teams.§

Transform Big Channels with AI precision. AI-powered systems continuously monitor ad performance and adapt in real time, replacing underperforming ads automatically without manual intervention. Machine learning algorithms analyze behavioral data, demographics, and past engagement to create highly personalized audience segments that traditional targeting methods can't match.§

Maintain quality while scaling quantity. The key is intelligent automation that complements human work rather than replacing it. Use programmatic approaches for structure and scale, then layer in authentic human touches where they matter most.§

Reduce waste and increase efficiency. AI reduces the number of wasted impressions and allocates budgets more appropriately, leading to cost-efficiency and improved ROI. Advanced algorithms automate multiple facets of ad monetization, leading to better efficiency in ad planning, execution, and management.§

The New Operating System

The Updated Formula

Product rule: Be multiplayer by design. Think of your ICP as a node in a network. Keep friction low, make outputs highly shareable.§

GTM rule: Be authentic. Twenty years ago, airport ads signaled trustworthiness. Today's buyers respond to genuine content over traditional advertising.§

Programmatic rule: Automate structure, humanize content. Use templates and data to create scale, but ensure every touchpoint feels personal and valuable.§

AI rule: Use artificial intelligence to transform Big Channels from expensive, inefficient systems into precision instruments. Leverage predictive targeting, real-time optimization, and automated personalization to compete with enterprise resources.§

Speed over scale. If you have 100 active users and gain 500 more, you're ecstatic. Little channels work because you won't have competition, response rates are higher when done by hand, and you can always scale later.§

Novelty advantage. New products get "wow" moments that established companies can't replicate. Your bright-eyed product can generate hype spikes that mature products never will.§

The Technology Advantage

Leverage AI breakthrough experiences. Products with genuine "wow" factors spread organically. The novelty creates natural shareability that traditional products can't match.§

Use AI for marketing innovation. Individual contributors now have legacy ad agency resources at their fingertips. These ecosystems are less competitive than traditional channels.§

Expect novelty decay. Image generation models impressed us initially but feel routine now. Plan for when AI novelty fades and you'll need traditional marketing skills.§

Implementation Guide

Programmatic Implementation Framework

Start with proof of concept. Before building thousands of pages or sequences, test your programmatic strategy with a small batch to validate demand and conversion potential.§

Choose the right programmatic mix:§

• Programmatic SEO for content-heavy businesses targeting specific keyword clusters
• Programmatic outbound for B2B companies with defined ICPs and predictable buying patterns
• Programmatic ABM for targeting hundreds to thousands of accounts with personalized experiences
• Programmatic influencer marketing for systematic creator partnerships with $5K-$25K monthly minimums
• AI-powered Big Channel optimization for transforming traditional advertising into precision instruments

Maintain the human element. Programmatic doesn't mean robotic. Use automation for structure and scale, but ensure authentic human touches in messaging, community engagement, and customer success.§

Build systematic influencer programs. Allocate 70% to creator fees, 20% to platform costs, and 10% to content amplification. Focus on micro-influencers (1K-100K followers) for higher engagement rates and lower costs, with expected engagement rates of 3-6% for authentic content.§

Critical Success Factors

Product quality is non-negotiable. Marketing is a multiplier effect on inherent product quality. Great marketing on a shitty product still equals failure. Your product must be genuinely good.§

Timing matters. We're in a technology supercycle transition. Mobile wave is 15+ years old, paid ads are 20+ years mature. All traditional channels are fully saturated.§

Competition dynamics. The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs applies ecosystem-wide. When channels work, everyone jumps in, customer response drops, intermediary costs rise, and ROI plummets.§

Data infrastructure requirements. Programmatic approaches need clean data, proper tracking, and analytics infrastructure to optimize performance and prevent waste. AI systems require quality data inputs to deliver accurate predictions and optimizations.§

AI adoption is becoming mandatory. 80% of programmatic marketers already utilize AI to adapt advertising expenses and target strategies. Companies not leveraging AI-powered automation will be at a significant competitive disadvantage.§

Execution Checklist

Pre-launch:§

• Design multiplayer functionality into core product
• Identify where your ICP already congregates online
• Plan authentic content strategy around your founder's expertise
• Build self-service onboarding with credit card purchase flow
• Set up data infrastructure for programmatic campaigns
• Research AI-powered programmatic platforms for Big Channel optimization

Launch phase:§

• Execute one-time social media push (accept it only works once)
• Start building in public immediately with real metrics
• Join existing communities, don't create new ones
• Target prosumers who can buy without approval
• Launch programmatic SEO proof of concept with 50-100 pages
• Begin AI-powered optimization of traditional advertising channels

Growth phase:§

• Leverage open-source if applicable to build developer community
• Create two-way value with potential influencers in your space
• Use AI tools for creative marketing others aren't doing yet
• Take calculated brand risks that established companies can't
• Scale programmatic outbound with account scoring and automation
• Implement Growth ABM for larger account targeting
• Deploy AI-powered predictive targeting across all Big Channels

Scale preparation:§

• Document what's working in little channels
• Plan transition to bigger channels once you have momentum
• Build enterprise sales layer on top of prosumer base
• Prepare for when your "new" tactics become obvious to others
• Optimize programmatic systems for efficiency and quality
• Establish AI-powered automation across all marketing channels

The Bottom Line

Big Channels aren't dead—they're just broken when executed manually. Use AI-powered programmatic approaches to transform expensive, inefficient traditional channels into precision instruments that can compete with enterprise resources.§

The hybrid approach: Combine authentic community building, self-service viral products, Little Channel asymmetric strategies, and AI-powered Big Channel optimization to create sustainable competitive advantages.§

The playbook is always shifting. If these tactics feel obvious, it's time to get creative again. Speed of execution matters more than perfect strategy.§

What's next: This approach is already becoming mainstream. Early movers win, but the window for asymmetric advantage is closing. The founders who act now while these channels are still underutilized—and who master both programmatic scaling methods and AI-powered Big Channel optimization—will build the next generation of breakout companies.§